Lawmakers Vote For Daily Public School Pledge

A bill in the Oregon House would require public schools to display a United States flag in each classroom and to have a teacher or student lead the pledge each school day.

Tim Bonnemann
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Oregon lawmakers want to give students the chance to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day. The Oregon House Monday approved a measure that would require public schools to display a United States flag in each classroom and to have a teacher or student lead the pledge each school day. Current law only requires schools to hold weekly flag salutes.

Supporters include Republican representative Julie Parrish. She said the flag is a symbol of the country's shared values. "When our nation comes together as it did for Boston and for West, Texas last week, during 9/11 or when natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy strike, we come together united under the flag."

The bill would not require students to participate in reciting the pledge. But opponents of the measure said children whose parents ask them to opt out would be pressured or bullied to take part.